7/27/06
Warm greetings from Charlotte,
Last Monday, Mr. and Mrs. Meredith returned to Charlotte from their fruitful visits to Arizona and southern California congregations. Dr. Winnail left yesterday for the Living Youth Camp in Michigan; he will return to Charlotte next Monday. Our “world travelers,” Mr. and Mrs. Ames, are currently in London and will be flying to Ireland tomorrow to spend the Sabbath with our Irish brethren. They are expected to return to Charlotte next Tuesday—fresh and totally rested!!! Please continue to pray for the safety of all our travelers as well as for the success of the LYC camp.
Here is good news: The Living Church of God Ministerial Album is finally off the press. It will soon be mailed to all of our member households around the world.
The preliminary USA and Canadian Feast of Tabernacles speaking schedules have just been completed and approved by Mr. Meredith.—Dibar Apartian
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Montgomery Public Bible Study
The Montgomery, Alabama, Public Bible Study, held by Mr. Carl Ponder on July 22, was very successful. Of the 54 in attendance, 21 were new. The predicted thunderstorms, held off until after the meeting, actually helped to prolong the fellowship. Most attendees had no Sabbath-keeping background. Several came from quite a distance and some expressed the desire to start attending regularly with us. Distance and the high cost of gasoline may be a problem for some. The effect of the Public Bible Study on our brethren was very positive.
New Zealand Update
Mr. Kinnear Penman is currently in the South Island of New Zealand. He will be visiting seven “new” prospective members, in addition to doing some follow-up visits. After spending the Sabbath with the Christchurch congregation, he will return to Auckland on Saturday night.
Indonesian Update
The Work in Indonesia has experienced significant growth since 2005, when the number of subscribers was less than 75. Now, it has reached around 200. The Indonesian Work is receiving requests from all parts of the archipelagos, some states of Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Fifteen new translated materials have been added to our Indonesian literature list, totaling 205 items. The most requested booklet is “Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ’s Return”—50 times requested since first offered in Indonesian. Interestingly, our recent booklet, “Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity,” has been requested 19 times in less than two months, since it was first issued in Indonesian. God has indeed blessed the Work in this part of the world.—Arius Nusantara
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Middle East Turmoil Prompts Mailing. The whole world is focused on the violence that is wrecking the part of the world that much of Bible prophecy centers around. Because of the intense public interest, we are mailing a brief but powerful letter that Mr. Meredith just wrote offering our The Middle East In Prophecy booklet to 84,000 Tomorrow’s World subscribers in the United States who have responded at least twice to previous offers—and who have not previously requested the booklet. We hope that this timely offer will motivate many people to request this revealing booklet written by Mr. Ames. Please pray for the success of this mailing.—Davy Crockett
MEDIA
As of today, the Tomorrow’s World telecast has added more than 359,000 first-time callers since the telecast began in January 1999. While this number itself is fairly large, there are aspects of this count that are truly impressive.
This week our 400th person brand-new to the telecast and the Church was baptized. These 400 individuals found the Truth and God’s Church through the Tomorrow’s World telecast. What is impressive is the ratio of baptisms to the number of TV viewers on our mailing list. Back in the middle 1980s, the Church was baptizing one out of every 1,000 TV respondents who had been on the mailing list for seven years. Today, we are seeing one out of 200 being baptized who came on our mailing list seven years ago.
We have also had more than 400 others baptized since 1999, who came on file from the telecast, but they had previous knowledge or contact with God’s Church. To date, the Tomorrow’s World telecast has been instrumental in more than 800 baptisms that we know about.
Of the 359,000 viewers added to our files, 45,000 were added just this year, which is 31 percent above last year’s total at the same time.
It is also very encouraging to see the ratio of first-time callers staying high, as compared to callers who are already on file. For example, so far this year, 49 percent of all callers have been first-time callers. Back in 1999, the percentage of first-time callers was 68 percent. In the year 2000 it was 58 percent, then it moved up to 60 percent in 2001, then moved incrementally down to the present percentage. This is a normal pattern for TV respondents. We consider the optimum percentage to be 50 percent, where 50 percent of our callers each week are brand new and 50 percent are making their second, third, fourth or whatever request. This is a healthy balance. In order for TV viewers to progress and grow in grace and knowledge, they need to be making repeated requests—and this is happening.
We are expecting to add more than 100,000 new TV viewers to our worldwide mailing list this year—our biggest year yet.—Wayne Pyle
COMMENTS
Naptime is Over! Jesus warned us to WATCH, and said that growing concerns about spreading wars and violence between nations and ethnic groups would be the “beginning of sorrows” which would signal that His return was near (Matthew 24:1-8). Today, we see the Middle East erupting in flames, Africa torn by racial and religious strife, genocidal conflicts in the Balkans and across Southern Asia, North Korea lobbing missiles toward Japan, China threatening Taiwan, terrorist bombings around the globe—and the news media asserting that WWIII has begun! This is happening while professing Christian churches ordain homosexuals, and judges and politicians campaign for the rights of same-sex couples to marry—saying this once evil practice should now be acceptable and legal (Isaiah 5:20). Few recognize the connection between world events, the moral decline of Israelite nations and the growing hatred and eroding influence of America and Britain (Leviticus 26:19). Quietly and steadily, the power and influence of Europe and the Vatican are making themselves felt on the world scene—and Germany is offering to send troops into the Middle East. We have been predicting these very things for decades. It is time to wake up and get ready for what Jesus said is coming!
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
NEWS AND PROPHECY—July 27, 2006
Middle East in Turmoil! The European press is taking note of the rapid downward spiral in the volatile Middle East. According to a news source in Rome, “Everything would be simpler if the conflict were only between Israel and Palestine, as the major powers wouldn’t be as helpless as they are in the current crisis […] everything has changed since the fall of Saddam. In just the last few months, the world has witnessed Arafat’s death, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Sharon’s retirement, the developments in Iran, Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon, growing rivalries between the Shiites and Sunnis, and the chaos in Iraq. All that, and the US, which had once been the referee in the region, has sunk into the quagmire of Iraq. The fire is spreading, but who can make a stand against it?” (La Repubblica, July 15, 2006). Long ago God foresaw this lack of effective leadership at the end of the age, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30-31; see also Isaiah 3:1-5).
European Union wants its own military. Claude-France Arnould, Director of Politico-Military Affairs at the European Council, recently stated at a meeting in Brussels that the multi-national EU Battle Groups were more a tool for political integration than for attaining military objectives, and that they should promote the internationalist agenda. “Troops should be trained at EU level,” he said, “removing completely the national element and sovereignty of the forces.” The chairman of the Committee on Security and Defense that sponsored the meeting afterward declared, “We are on our way to a European Army” (eureferendum.blogspot.com, July 14, 2006). On another front, Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros is reportedly planning to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to foundations in the EU, to encourage Europe to stand up to America and to promote a more focused democratic power…” (BusinessOnline.Com, July 16, 2006). Prophecies indicate that a militarized power will emerge in Europe at the end of the age that will have a major impact on world events (Daniel 11:40-45; Revelation 17:12-14).
EU’s Muscular Trade Policy. The European Union continues to close its ports to a number of foreign goods. This rising tide of EU protectionism was highlighted earlier this year, when the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, recommended punitive duties on moderately priced leather shoes from China and Vietnam. A few months earlier, he banned Chinese-made T-shirts, bras and trousers. Now he has imposed a ban on New Zealand’s Anchor butter, a leading brand and staple in Britain. The U.K. had arranged preferential access for goods from the Commonwealth nations when it negotiated to join the EEC in 1973. The butter ban has been attacked as “outrageous” by politicians in Westminster and New Zealand. (Sunday Telegraph, July 16, 2006). The EU is also locked in a struggle with Microsoft in an antitrust dispute which could cost Bill Gates’ company hundreds of millions of dollars. This kind of economic bickering can bring retaliation from the targeted countries and could spark an international trade war. The Bible predicts that the EU is destined to become the world’s greatest mercantile power until its destruction comes, just before the return of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 18:11-13).—Don Davis, Scott Winnail and Dan Bennett
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COGwriter 2006